Dorrance Dance Brings Visual Rhythm to MIAC

Wednesday, March 30

With dancing, it's usually more important that the audience watch, rather than listen. But that's not the case with Dorrance Dance, a company that aims to honor the uniquely American history of tap dance – a highly aural dance form, filled with complex syncopations and a pulsing beat.

And when Dorrance Dance takes the stage at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center, the audience will experience first-hand (or first-ear) how the company pushes tap's traditions to its limits. The combination of street, club, and experimental dance forms are the brainchild of Michelle Dorrance, a New York City-based dancer and choreographer who was awarded a MacArthur Genius grant in 2015. (And as I've previously noted – they don't just give those things away.)

Dorrance has led her company in sold-out performances at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center, and the Barcelona Tap Festival, among other venues across the United States and Europe. She's collaborated with Martha Graham Dance – another alum of the MIAC series – and she won a Bessie Award for "The Blues Project," a depiction of the history of the blues through tap-based works and collaboration between dancers and musicians. Oh, and she's performed solo on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with house band, Jon Batiste & Stay Human.

Tap's an art form that's as American as jazz, and Colbert is basically a bald eagle incarnate. So if Dorrance Dance is good enough for Colbert (and America), it's worth checking out. – Sara Toth

7:30 p.m. // 501 E. 38th St. // Tickets $5 - $32 // miac.merychurst.edu or 824.3000